This invention relates to a machine tool for cutting treatment of workpieces, and, in particular, a machine tool comprising a workpiece support having two opposing side walls, a tool support having two opposing side walls and at least one approximately horizontally disposed processing unit on the tool support, wherein during operation of the machine tool, forces act between the workpiece and the processing unit, in particular in the Z direction.
A machine tool of this type is disclosed e.g. in DE 196 39 527 C1 (corresponding to WO9813170), entitled xe2x80x9cMachine Tool For Cutting Processes With A Horizontally Lodged Work Spindlexe2x80x9d.
This known machine tool comprises a vertical frame-like tool support on a common machine base, having an upper horizontal transverse support and, parallel opposite thereto, a vertical frame-like workpiece support having an upper horizontal transverse support. These upper transverse supports which have approximately the same height are connected via one or more connecting supports to form a stable unit such that displacement between the workpiece side and the tool side which could occur in the Z direction due to e.g. high acceleration and processing forces, is diverted via the connecting support(s).
The known connecting support has the shape of a fork and is mounted with one leg to the upper transverse support of the workpiece support while the ends of the two fork-shaped legs are mounted to the transverse support of the tool support, being supported on same. Depending on the spatial conditions and the production requirements, the connecting support is mounted at the center, out-of-center, or at an end of the transverse support. This connecting support requires additional production and manufacturing effort since it has to be produced separately as special part.
It is the object of the invention to further develop a machine tool of the above mentioned type such that displacements between workpiece side and tool side can be effectively prevented without specially produced parts.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in that the side walls of the tool support and workpiece support, respectively, are combined into a common side wall.
The advantage achieved with the invention is in that the forces acting between the tool and workpiece are accommodated by the side walls since the tool and also the workpiece are held at these two common side walls. Acceleration and processing forces, in particular in the Z direction, occur if the workpiece and processing unit are movable relative to one another in this direction and moreover the side walls can be used advantageously as lateral protective walls against cuttings etc.
In preferred embodiments of the invention one approximately vertical guide is provided on each of the two common side walls for a Y slide of the processing unit (e.g. one or more work spindles) which is preferably disposed such that it can be displaced in three dimensions via an X and Z slide.
A second aspect of the invention concerns a machine tool in particular for cutting treatment of workpieces. The machine tool comprises a workpiece support having two opposing side walls, a tool support having two opposing side walls and at least one approximately horizontally disposed processing unit on the tool support, wherein during operation of the machine tool forces act between the workpiece and the processing unit, in particular in the Z direction and wherein an upper transverse support of the tool support and an upper transverse support of the workpiece support are connected to one another in the Z direction.
To achieve the above mentioned object, this machine tool combines the two upper transverse supports into one single common upper transverse support in accordance with the invention.
This upper transverse support which is common to both supports, can also accommodate the forces acting therebetween. In this embodiment, the side walls of the tool support and workpiece support do not necessarily have to be combined into one common side wall but may be separated from one another in the Z direction, e.g. for leaving a set-up opening therebetween. The forces acting between workpiece and tool side and thereby between the individual side walls are diverted to and accommodated by the common transverse support.
Advantageous embodiments of this invention comprise on the common upper transverse support an approximately horizontal guide for an X slide of the processing unit which is preferably disposed such that it can also be moved in three dimensions via a Y and Z slide.
In a further development, the common upper transverse support can have an opening through which a tool exchanger can be lowered onto the level of the processing unit to change its tool.
In a further advantageous embodiment, which may be provided in both aspects of the invention, the tool support and workpiece support have one single common lower transverse support as base. This transverse support may also be provided with an approximately horizontal guide for the X slide of the processing unit.
In a very particular further development of this embodiment, the side walls, the common lower transverse support and the common upper transverse support may be combined into a common frame. This self-contained frame represents at the same time a protective cover for cuttings etc.
The common frame may be manufactured as a one-piece casting or be composed of several interconnected, in particular welded, individual parts.
Further advantages of the invention can be extracted from the description and the drawing. The features mentioned above and below can be used in accordance with the invention either individually or collectively in any arbitrary combination. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as an exhaustive enumeration but rather in an exemplary character for describing the invention. The invention is schematically shown in the figures to clearly show the essential features of the invention. The representations are not necessarily to scale.